Osage Traditions

James Owen Dorsey

Informations

• Publié par: maveg
• Publié le: 01 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 40
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Osage Traditions by J. Owen Dorsey

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at http://www.guten- berg.org/license

Title: Osage Traditions

Author: J. Owen Dorsey

Release Date: October 4, 2006 [Ebook 19464]

Language: English

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OSAGE TRADITIONS***

Osage Traditions

by J. Owen Dorsey

Edition 1, (October 4, 2006)

SMITHSONIAN GY.

INSTITUTION

BUREAU

OF

ETHNOLO-

Contents

INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . UNl n 'U¢ÁE. TSÍOU WACTÁE ITÁP . . . . .E. . UNl n U¢ÁE. QÜ¢ÁPASA n ITÁP . . . . . . . .E. . CONCLUDING REMARKS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Illustrations

FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage. . . . . . . . . . . .

1 7 8 23 34

3

OSAGE TRADITIONS.

BY REV. J. OWEN DORSEY.

INTRODUCTION.

When the author visited the Osage, in the Indian Territory, in January, 1883, he learned of the existence of a secret society of seven degrees, in which, it was alleged, the traditions of the people have been preserved to the present time. Owing to the shortness of his visit, one month and eleven days, he was unable to gain more than fragmentary accounts of the society, including parts of two traditions, from several Osage who had been initiated. The version of the first tradition was dictated to the author by Hada-Tüse (Red Corn), a halfbreed Osage of the TsíTu wactáe gens. He obtained it from Sadeki¢e. Hada-Tüse was adopted in childhood by a white man named Matthews, who sent him to a Jesuit college in Missouri(?) to be educated for the priesthood. But the boy left the institution after he had been taught to read and write, as he did not wish to become a priest. He took the name of William P. Matthews, but among his white associates he is known as Bill Nix. He has tried several occupations and is

[377]

[378]

2

Osage Traditions

now an Indian doctor. The author was inclined at first to under- rate Mr. Matthews's accomplishments and stock of information, but subsequently changed his opinion of him, as he obtained much that agreed with what had been furnished by members of other tribes in former years. Besides, the author obtained partial accounts of similar traditions from other Osage, who used the same chant which Hada-Tü of the younger Nonese had sung. Osage men knew about these matters and the author was urged not to speak to them on this subject. He observed that several of the elder men, members of the secret order in which these traditions are preserved, had parts of the accompanying symbolic chart (Fig. 389) tattooed on their throats and chests. This chart is a fac simile of one that was drawn for the author by Hada-Tüse. At the top we see a tree near a river. The tree is a cedar, called the tree of life. It has six roots, three on each side. Nothing is said about this tree till the speaker nearly reaches the end of the tradition. Then follows the "ceremony of the cedar." The tree is described very minutely. Then follows a similar account of the river and its branches. Just under the river, at the left, we see a large star, the Red or Morning Star. Next are six stars, Ta¢ad¢i n . The Omaha know a similar group, which they call "Mi n xa siañga," or "Large foot of a goose." Next is the Evening Star; and last comes the small star, "Mikak'-Tiña." Beneath these four we see the seven stars, or Pleiades (Mikak'udátse pé¢m n da, the Seven Gentes of Stars), between the Moon (on the left) and the Sun (on the right). Beneath these are the peace pipe (on the left) and the hatchet (on the right). A bird is seen hovering over the four upper worlds. These worlds are represented by four parallel horizontal lines, each of which, except the lowest one, is supported by two pillars. The lowest world rests on a red oak tree. The journey of the people began at a point below the lowest upper world, on the left side of the chart. Then the people had neither human bodies nor souls, though they existed in some

INTRODUCTION.

FIG.

389.

Symbolic

chart

of

the

Osage.

3

[379]

4

Osage Traditions

unknown manner. They ascended from the lowest upper world, on the left, to the highest. There they obtained human souls in the bodies of birds, according to Sadeki¢e.ahie-waayiña said that there they met a male red bird, to whom they appealed for aid. (See p. 383, line 18.) This was distinct from the female Red Bird, who gave them human bodies. They descended to the first world, and from that they traveled until they alighted on the red oak tree. (See p. 383, line 30.) The ground was covered with grass and other kinds of vegetation. Then the paths of the people separated: some marched on the left, being the peace gentes that could not take life; they subsisted on roots &c.; while those on the right killed animals. By and by the gentes exchanged commodities. The small figures on the left, in going from the tree (on the right when facing the tree), show the heavenly bodies or beings to whom the Black Bear went for help, and those on the right, in going from the tree (on the left when facing the top of the chart), show similar bodies or beings to whom the WaTaTe or war gentes applied for assistance. These are unknown to the members of the TsíT After the female red bird gave bodies to theu gentes. TsíTBlack Bear found seven skins, which wereu people, the used for tents. Subsequently the people discovered four kinds of rocks, which were the I n qsáde, or black rock; I n qtuhu, 1 or blue (green?) rock; I n qTüse, or red rock; and I n qsk, or white rock. Therefore, when a child is named, four stones are heated for the sweat bath. After finding the rocks, according to ahie-waayiña, four buffalo bulls approached the people, as one of the men was returning to the company. When the first bull arose after rolling on the ground, an ear of red corn and a red pumpkin fell from his left hind leg. The leader of the TsíTu 1 The sound of this inverteduu, as well as the sounds of, between o and other letters used in this article, except that of the invertede(which is a sound approximating ch in the German word ich), is to be found on page 206, Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.

INTRODUCTION.

5

wactáthem, and asked his younger brother to picke noticed them up and taste them. The leader of the Bald Eagle subgens did so. Then the elder brother said: "These will be good for the children to eat. Their limbs will stretch and increase in strength." When the second bull arose after rolling, an ear of spotted corn and a spotted pumpkin dropped from his left hind leg. These, too, were tasted and declared good for the children. When the third bull arose after rolling, an ear of dark corn and a dark (black?) pumpkin dropped from his left hind leg. From the left hind leg of the fourth buffalo dropped an ear of white corn and a white pumpkin. Therefore, when a child is named in the TsíTu gens (alone?) the head man of that gens (ahie-waayiña himself, according to his statement) takes a grain of each kind of corn and a slice of each variety of pumpkin, which he puts into the mouth of the infant. Hada-Tüse knew that the four kinds of rocks were found, "but he could not say in what part of the tradition the account belonged. He said that subsequently the WaTaTe and TsíTu gentes came to the village of the Hañ'a-utá¢anse, a very war-like people, who then inhabited earth lodges. They subsisted on animals, and bodies of all kinds lay around their village, making the air very offensive. The TsíTu succeeded at last in making peace with the Hañ'a-utá¢anse. After this followed the part of the account given to the author byahie-waayiña: "After the council between the TsíTu, WaTaTe, and Hañ'a- utá¢anse, two old men were sent off to seek a country in which all might dwell. One of these was a TsíTu wactáe and the other a Pa n eka-wactá man received a pipe from the councile. Each and was told to go for seven days without food or drink. He carried a staff to aid him in walking. Three times a day he wept, in the morning, at noon, and near sunset. They returned to the people at the end of the seven days, being very thin. The report of the TsíTu man was accepted, so the TsíTu gens is superior to the Paneka-wactáe or Watsetsi. A WaTaTe man acted as crier and told all about the new home of the nation. All the old men

[380]